Rahul Bajaj's gift to J&K; Srinagar's first clock tower built by late industrialist [details]

The 'Clock Tower, popularly known as 'Ghanta Chowk' at Lal Chowk, in the heart of Srinagar city, has great significance for the people of Kashmir. This Tower is witness to the historical development in Kashmir Valley.

In 1980, Bajaj Electricals raised the Clock Tower in the middle of Lal Chowk. It served as an advertisement for Bajaj in Srinagar.

After the demise of renowned industrialist Rahul Bajaj, residents of Srinagar city recalled his contributions in setting up the first Ghanta Chowk in the heart of the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

"And it was Rahul Bajaj who gave Srinagar its first Ghanta Ghar or clock tower laid by the Bajaj Group at the historic city center Lal Chowk in 1980", veteran journalist Yosuf Jameel twitted while paying his tributes to Rahul Bajaj who breathed his last on Saturday.

Reports said that in 1980, Bajaj Electricals raised the clock tower in the middle of the Chowk. It initially served as an advertisement for Bajaj in Srinagar and later for years it was not renovated and it stopped functioning.

Quoting Saleem Baig, head of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in Kashmir, some newspapers reported that it was built by Bajaj Company because at that time there was no Clock Tower in Kashmir. Since then it has become a point of attraction for many political rallies because of its location at the historic Lal Chowk.

Bajaj Tower was renovated, new clocks were installed in 2017

After remaining defunct for years, the famed Clock Tower, also known as Bajaj Tower, at the Lal Chowk was renovated and four new clocks were installed in September 2017. The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) had installed four new clocks on the tower.

Political significance of Chowk

Lal Chowk has political significance because this Chowk is named after the central marketplace in Moscow Red Square. In 1992, the then BJP president, Murli Manohar Joshi, came to hoist the Tricolour atop the tower on Republic Day. Murli Manohar Joshi was accompanied by some party colleagues including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The hoisting of the Tricolour at Lal Chowk was the culmination of the BJP's "Ekta Yatra", which had begun from Kanyakumari.

It again became the centre of focus in 2011 when the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) youth wing of BJP, had planned "Rashtriya Ekta Yatra" to unfurl the national flag at Clock Tower on Republic Day.